Chapter 3: Lying by Omission
Sokka was sitting on the edge of Azula's mattress when she awoke, his hands on his lap and his head down, lost in thought.
"Water peasant," she breathed quietly.
The sound of her voice made him flinch. "It's Sokka."
"Sokka…"
It was the first time he had heard her address him by his name rather than some elitist insult. He hadn't expected it to sound so mellifluous. Not from her sharp tongue.
"You saved me… why?"
"I – " he choked. He didn't have a good reason for her. This was unacceptable to her.
"What could you have possibly gained?" Her tone had harshened a bit, almost as if she were angry with him for rescuing her.
"Nothing!" He turned his upper half around to face her. "I – I just saw you there and couldn't let you die, okay?"
Her brow furrowed. She faintly shook her head. "I don't understand." The callousness in her voice had entirely abated. "I–I'm your enemy! I could kill you right now!"
"But you won't," he challenged, staring her straight in the eye.
To his surprise, she averted her gaze. Silence filled the still room.
His stern expression was washed over with solemnness and a hint of sympathy. "How long were you in there?" he asked apprehensively.
She shook her head and shrugged.
"Minutes? Hours?" More silence. "Days?"
"I don't know! I don't know!" she cried.
"How did you… who did this to you?" He spoke slowly with a disquieted tone.
She didn't answer him immediately. She couldn't even look at him – she just stared down at her lap. "Mai and Ty Lee." Her voice quivered, unable to mask the pain of their betrayal.
His eyes widened with disbelief.
"They… thought I was going to kill Zuko."
"Why would they – "
"Father told me to."
"Well… were you?" He couldn't put it past her.
"No." She finally brought her eyes back up to Sokka's. "Of course not."
He could see honesty in those amber orbs. But then again, he knew how proficient she was in the art of lying.
"I was angry with him when he left. After everything I did to help restore his honor and bring him home. And… I said I would kill him – I couldn't disobey Father! I…" She paused. "I told Mai and Ty Lee that I couldn't wait to celebrate becoming an only child, but… I wasn't going to hurt him." She paused again to read his face. "You don't believe me."
"I don't know, Azula." He sighed. "If you weren't going to kill him, then why even bother tracking him here?"
"I didn't track him! The warden notified us immediately when he found out Zuko had broken into his prison, so Father sent me here to end him. But I was only going to talk to him, try to reason with him and… find out why he left me."
The way her voice trailed off at the end let him know how much her brother must have hurt her. "So she has feelings after all." He never would have guessed.
"I don't expect you to believe me," she murmured. "Mai and Ty Lee certainly didn't when I tried to explain. As soon as we got here, Ty Lee chi-blocked me and they threw me into the cooler. I could hear Mai tell the warden that I had come to rescue Zuko, that I was a traitor to my nation just like him."
"Why would the warden take her side?"
"He's her uncle."
"Oh… I don't see the resemblance."
She shot him a sideways glare.
"And then they even went as far as to take your armor…"
She shifted under the blanket with discomfort, making sure it was securely covering all of her. "My only two friends in the world… left me here to die."
It was at this point that he actually felt sorry for her. He didn't know what to do or say to comfort her.
"Mother said I had it coming." Her voice was eerily quiet.
He raised an eyebrow. "Your mother?"
"Yes, she came to visit me. Several times. Isn't that nice?"
